<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Lying In The Bed I Made by thatchedrooftavern</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27741709">Lying In The Bed I Made</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatchedrooftavern/pseuds/thatchedrooftavern'>thatchedrooftavern</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Psych (TV 2006)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Follows Canon Timeline, Hanahaki Disease, Not Beta Read, Soulmate AU, but with my own special twist, mostly bc idk how it's actually supposed to work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:28:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27741709</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatchedrooftavern/pseuds/thatchedrooftavern</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It came from his mom's side. Maddie's brother died from the flowers when Shawn was ten."<br/>When a person with Hanahaki Disease meets their true romantic soulmate, the petals of flowers begin to line their lungs and slowly but surely overflow, leaving them with 5 years until they can no longer breathe unless they share a True Love's Kiss with their soulmate. Only then will this curse be lifted.<br/>At least, that's what Shawn reads. In reality, it is much more complicated.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Burton "Gus" Guster &amp; Shawn Spencer, Juliet O'Hara/Shawn Spencer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Lily White, Poppy Red</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Shules + Hanahaki Disease, after you meet your soulmate, you have 5 years to kiss them (for realsies) or you die. A lot of people probably write Hanahaki differently but my version is what works best within the context of the show. The title is the last line of Flowers from Hadestown because I can be like that if I want to and also Shawn is going to be vaguely self-destructive and doing a lot more lying.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It came from his mom’s side. Maddie’s brother died because of the flowers when Shawn was ten. He understood more than most kids his age, but Shawn didn’t know he could have it too until after his mom left. Henry kept asking him to get the genetic test, to see if he had the disease that had caused Maddie so much grief and pain, but Shawn refused. He told Gus that he didn’t want his life governed by a disease he probably doesn’t even have but the truth is, he was scared. Scared that, when he finally met his soulmate, he wouldn’t be enough and they would leave him to die. <br/>So Shawn ran. He ran across the country and he ran to Europe but eventually, he ran back home. Back to Gus and, begrudgingly, back to his dad. He tried to never commit or get attached, not to an apartment and certainly not to a job. &lt;<br/>Shawn started Psych because he thought it would be fun. He could spite his dad by using the skills from his childhood to solve crimes without ever becoming a cop. And he could work with his best friend. Win-win. <br/>But then he sees her, and everything changes.</p>
<p>Shawn walks back into the diner and looks up to see a blonde woman sitting in his seat. She’s just sitting there and reading the newspaper, but there’s something intriguing in the way that her eyes keep flickering to the door. <br/>In true Shawn fashion, he starts out like it’s a game.<br/>“Excuse me, uh, you’re in my seat,” he says, voice filled with an innocent charm he’s spent years perfecting. <br/>The woman’s eyebrows rise and a smile appears on her face. “Am I?” she asks incredulously.<br/>“Actually, yes, you are.”<br/>“Are you one of those weirdo compulsives who come to the same restaurant, sit in the same chair, and eat the same food every day?”<br/>Shawn is briefly taken aback and ends up attempting to justify himself. “Uh, no. No, no, I was sitting here three minutes ago and then I went outside to get myself a paper. I ordered the juice, and look!“ He moves his juice and picks up the little paper snake. “I made a crawling snake out of the straw wrapper, you can finish it if you think you’re up to the job.”<br/>Her expression is bemused. “I’m sorry, do you want me to move?”<br/>He drops the snake. “Not anymore.”<br/>Shawn plops down next to her and plays his game but he can’t shake his surprise at her reaction. She isn’t playing along, but she‘s not outright repulsed either. It’s like she‘s challenging every word he says, her eyes saying, "Is that the best you can do?"<br/>So he continues and gets her name - Juliet. He uses all his best tricks and talks about her cats. It’s possible that he kisses up a little during the “I’ll have the conversation for the both of us” bit, but it’s enough and her resolve drops for a moment. She turns toward him, her sly smile brighter than the sun. Shawn thanks the God he doesn’t believe in for his photographic memory of that smile. <br/>It‘s all going well, until Scary Guy walks in and she freezes up, hand going to her purse. <br/>“Oh my gosh, you’re a cop,” he realizes.<br/>She denies it (poorly) but then she draws her gun. She looks nervous and her hands shake but her eyes show no fear.<br/>Shawn sips at his orange juice and watches her leave with a fascinated smile on his face. As soon as the door slams shut, Shawn chokes on his juice and starts coughing. He coughs and coughs and coughs and draws the attention of the whole diner until he feels something coming up his throat. He pulls it out and looks in shock at a short, ovular petal in bright yellow. <br/> “Juliet.” He whispers her name like he’s testing how it feels in his mouth. “You’ll be the death of me.”      </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Railroad Track</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shawn finds out more, while Gus and Henry find out.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>80% of this chapter's delay was the fact that I couldn't find a good title. Enjoy!</p><p>Some dialog from season one, episode 8 "Forget Me Not"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The whole soulmate shebang must mean something to the universe because Shawn later discovers that Diner Soulmate Juliet is actually Lassie’s new partner, Junior Detective Juliet O’Hara.<br/>
He tries to play it off, almost pretending the incident at the diner never happened, but the magnetic pull of the crime-solving world has already begun to trap him, and his flowering chest blooms every time he sees her in the station.</p><p>After putting it off for most of his life, Shawn finally decides to do some research on the disease that just might kill him. Although the rarity of the disease makes sources hard to come by, the main gist is that its a genetic phenomenon that begins when you meet your universe assigned and approved romantic soulmate. As soon as you cough up the first petal, you have 5 years to share a so-called “True Love’s Kiss” with your soulmate or else you will choke to death on flower petals. Not the best way to go, but that’s what you get for not getting your soulmate to fall in love with you. Everyone’s flowers are different. Shawn joins an online chat room (under a pseudonym of course) and learns that yellow tulips are what’s killing him. Tulips, in general, symbolize perfect love but yellow tulips mean either hopeless love or something about “sunshine in your smile”.<br/>
In later years, Shawn can never decide which is more fitting.<br/>
Shawn continues to dig and finds cure research being done in Sacramento but their “medicine” was essentially weed killer injected into your lungs. He shakes it off and switches to reading first-hand accounts but they quickly get gruesome. Many of these people had their soulmates die or marry someone else before they got the chance to share a kiss. Shawn’s shocked that none of these people just crashed their soulmate’s wedding, but there’s something strangely beautiful in a love so strong that you’d doom yourself, just to let your soulmate live happily.<br/>
Shawn doesn't have any more time to wax philosophical because Gus walks into the Psych office and Shawn slams his computer shut. His friend thinks nothing of it and Shawn bounces off with him to the station. Whether he wants a case or to see Juliet is unclear.</p><p>People Shawn tells: Gus<br/>
People who figure it out when Shawn tries to disguise a cough in their presence the third time it ever happens: Henry Spencer</p><p>Gus and Shawn’s dad always knew about the possibility of Shawn getting Hanahaki but he didn’t initially set out to tell either of them. He didn’t really think it was any of their business but, of course, neither would accept that answer.<br/>
After the Comic-Con case, Gus gets annoyed with Shawn’s casual flirtation with Juliet. They’ve been working with her for a solid 2 months (the same number of times Shawn has coughed up a petal) and the amount of times Shawn has flirted with Juliet is frankly incalculable.<br/>
“It's getting ridiculous,” Gus says as they walk into the Psych office, continuing his rant from outside.<br/>
Shawn takes a deep breath and hisses it out through his teeth. This is about the third time Gus has actually complained out loud rather than silently making his discomfort known.<br/>
“Well, I gotta get her to kiss me somehow!” Shawn whips around and throws open a drawer on the desk. He reaches inside and pulls out two crumpled, yellow petals. Shawn tosses them onto the desk with a dramatic flick and falls into the chair.<br/>
Gus stares at the petals, Gus mouth moving but making no sound. In a few seconds, he wraps up his mini-breakdown and shifts into a calm expression.<br/>
“You’re sure it’s her?” he asks.<br/>
Shawn starts spinning around in the chair. “I mean, yeah. Pretty sure. Didn’t talk to anyone else in that diner.”<br/>
“Yeah alright.” Gus begins pacing. “And stop spinning - I get sympathetic motion sickness.”<br/>
“Gus, don’t be a goose with jaundice, you need to stop making these things up.”<br/>
“I’m not making this up, Shawn.” And as if to prove his point, Gus gags and runs to the bathroom without another word.<br/>
<br/>
Then comes the Captain Connors case and Shawn has to spend a little too much time with his dad for his liking. The already strong tension ends up coming to a head right about when Shawn had suspected it would.<br/>
“No, no, no!” Every word is punctuated by an angry snap of the hedge-trimmers.<br/>
“Dad!” Shawn whines, holding uo the newspaper. “He was mauled by a mountain lion! Don’t you find that the least bit coincidental?”<br/>
Henry smacks the newspaper out of his face. “Of course it’s coincidental Shawn! But it doesn’t make it murder.”<br/>
Shawn tries not to roll his eyes. “No, it makes it an episode of ‘When Animals Attack, Santa Barbara’.”<br/>
“Yes, well, mountain lions do attack in Santa Barbara. In fact, you watch the news, right, that’s your source of psychic information? It happens!”<br/>
“Connors came to me. He says, ‘I solved a murder.’-“<br/>
Henry sighs. “Shawn, Connors was a good cop, and the thing that made him a good cop was that he never accepted the easy answer, but that doesn't mean that he was always right. Obviously, somewhere in his mind, he has confused something that happened 20 years ago with something that happened today.”<br/>
Henry tosses the hedge-trimmers into the yard waste bin and Shawn’s leg bounces on the grass. Somewhere in his mind, Shawn knows his dad is making some sense but he can’t abandon this. Maybe it’s just to spite his dad, maybe it’s just how he is, but Shawn believes in this case.<br/>
Henry’s walking away and Shawn runs to catch up but begins to cough. He tries to swallow and cover it up but Henry turns around.<br/>
“Shawn,” he says, his tone wary. “What was that?”<br/>
“What was what?” Shawn plays dumb but his dad was the one who taught him how to lie with such grace. Shawn remembers the time his father told him that if he was gonna lie, he should make it a bit harder to catch him. Well, he hasn’t succeeded yet.<br/>
He just stands there waiting as Shawn tries to match his posture and continues to awkwardly cough, trying to silence it like when you’re in school and have already coughed twice during the lecture.<br/>
The stare-down ends when Shawn can’t suppress his coughs any longer and doubles over, hand over his mouth. Eventually, the petal comes up and Shawn hurriedly shoves it into his pocket.<br/>
“Shawn. Did you think I couldn’t see that?” There’s a dark edge to his voice.<br/>
“Dad!” Shawn whines. He meets his father’s gaze and an understanding passes between them. “Can we talk about the case instead?”<br/>
“Who is it?”<br/>
Shawn starts to protest but is silently shot down. “Juliet, Lassie’s partner.”<br/>
Henry raises his eyebrows. “A cop, huh?”<br/>
“Dad, drop it.”<br/>
“Nope, not yet. She only came to town a couple of months ago, yeah?”<br/>
Shawn nods, his eyes darting around the yard as if looking for an escape. “Three,” he says, still not meeting his father’s eyes.<br/>
Henry blinks and nods then blinks and nods again, before speaking. “Twenty years ago, Mort Crocker was the CEO of Mort’s Family Restaurant chain and Zoe Sharp was his assistant…”<br/>
Shawn sighs with an air of reluctant gratitude, and his dad continues to tell him about the case. He talks to a mountain lion and helps Connors solve a murder, but he also somehow feels less anxious now that his dad knows. Just a bit less weight on his constantly racing mind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! Following this chapter, I don't have another timeline specific event until season two. If you want me to hit a specific scene or episode in season one or two, please comment. I'd love to hear your suggestions and feedback.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Just Be Glad You Got 'Em</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jealousy and hope.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A quick interlude chapter with a couple of snapshots. I’ve been busy lately and wanted to pop something in here while I worked on the next chapter.<br/>I will be jumping around a bit to some major Shules moments in the show so the time jumps will be a bit more intense. Also, I dropped in on the “Meat Is Murder” episode because I thought it was funny and good to include the soulmate thing.<br/>This one includes/references 1x11 - "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not, She Loves Me... Oops, She's Dead" and 2x06 - "Meat Is Murder... But Murder Is Also Murder" (fun episode titles in this one).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Speed dating.<br/>
A ridiculous concept, even without the leprechaun aesthetic. Though, he thinks that Lassie fits in among the green leprechauns and clovers way better than is reasonable, even if the speed dating scene isn’t his thing.<br/>
Shawn sits across from Juliet and hopes he can suppress thoughts of the case for the six minutes they have. He’s spent the time they’ve worked together cultivating a rapport between them. A subtle flirt or compliment here and there, a glance in her direction after he makes a joke. It’s nothing really. Nothing yet.<br/>
Juliet’s hair is falling loosely in its curls, bouncing around the shoulders of her striped shirt. She never wears her hair down at work, using elaborate updos both for function in the field and to look more professional than her young age would suggest. Now, Juliet blends seamlessly into the crowd of hopeful singles and weaves her way through the mess of guys no one wants to date. At least, until she gets to Shawn.<br/>
Shawn tries to play his game as he poses wacky hypotheticals, going more for a laugh than a genuine answer. Still, it’s harder to pretend it’s a game when Juliet’s curls bounce and reflect the green-tinted light every time she turns her head to check for an escape from their mini-date. It’s hard to pretend when she’s challenging him and his silly games, just like the first time they met. It’s all so mesmerizing that Shawn is almost glad when the date ends, just for a chance to get his thoughts back on the case.<br/>
After their promising search for their mystery murderer and Lassie and Juliet’s “date”/near HR violation, Shawn is riding high, his working mind still in case-mode as he enjoys the atmosphere of the restaurant, gaudily Irish as it is. Suddenly, he hears an excited voice from behind him and turns to be met with Juliet being shoved into him by the SAT test proctor bell woman.<br/>
“You and you are a 100% match from your personality questionnaires!” she squeals as Juliet awkwardly disentangles herself from Shawn. “I smell love!” The dinging bell they have heard so many times this evening should be classified as a crime against humanity.<br/>
This is a cruel joke, just like so much of Shawn’s life. His “soulmate” having a 100% personality match at a stupid speed dating event. The level of awkwardness is just high enough for Shawn to suppress an outright laugh. The universe is just shoving it in this face at this point. He and Juliet brush the incident off but the brutal irony of it lingers in Shawn's mind.<br/>
Shawn does his big show to finish off the case, Glinda’s tan line finally selling him on her guilt, but he somehow isn’t satisfied with this one.<br/>
His mind keeps drifting to Juliet and her stupid handsy bowling date. Her hair down and her work pantsuit shed for the night, Shawn is struck by Juliet outside of the station, the positivity she holds deep within her and shares with those around her.<br/>
It is as Shawn leaves the bowling alley, after meeting the guy Shawn wills himself not to remember the name of, that he decides to tell Juliet he copied her answers. His hand is on the door handle and Mr. Brightside by The Killers is playing on the bowling alley loudspeakers. The door closes behind him and he hears one last word of the song as he begins the journey to his dad’s house: jealousy. </p>
<p>He lets Juliet hijack his date at the restaurant after the case wraps. As he expects, Juliet addresses the questionnaire and Shawn spews his prepared lie, his chest tightening in the process. He wonders if he’s gonna cough another petal. He’s made it a priority to not tell Juliet, maybe ever, he hasn’t thought that far yet. Even so, as Juliet leaves and her spot is taken by Gus, Shawn thinks he might allow himself some hope for the future.<br/>
After all, love is in the air.<br/>
_______<br/>
Does Shawn think astrology’s real? Absolutely not. But is he going to use the newspaper job to settle a few personal deals? Absolutely yes. If the universe is gonna play a cruel joke on him, then he’s gonna play a joke on the universe.<br/>
The Lassie joke is a given, the guy is way too desperate for a promotion, especially with the shoulder injury he’s got going on. His dad’s horoscope actually serves a purpose—that was good stuff and Shawn misses it—but Shawn doesn’t know what he was going for with Juliet. Shawn knows she’s a Libra, he bought her a pineapple-shaped mug for her birthday last year, and he supposes that it wouldn’t take too much thought to edge her in Shawn’s direction. It’s not like it’s anything but a joke, right?<br/>
Whatever the reason, Shawn knows it was worth it when he sees her confident walk falter at the sight of his shirt. Her doubt and skepticism that Shawn can challenge with his half-truths bring a smile to Shawn’s lips.  Maybe it’s a joke, maybe it’s desperate hope from Shawn that he doesn’t want to admit.<br/>
In any case, Shawn hopes that this horoscope turns out to be true.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! I've been busy lately and don't have an update schedule so there was a bit of a delay on this chapter. Said not-schedule will probably get even wilder going into the new year as I simultaneously have more and less free time. Be warned and happy holidays!<br/>As always, leave a comment if you have suggestions or feedback.</p>
<p>P.S. If you caught the reference in the Lassie-leprechaun comment, you’re my new best friend.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! Also, this is my first fic! Please comment with any suggestions or tips or whatever you see fit. I have most of this fic prewritten but I'd love to add some scenes in the middle and I am open to making changes based on suggestions.<br/>My update schedule will in no way be consistent but you can expect chapters around this length.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>